Donald Trump's Scotland Connection

Aberdeen in Scotland makes golfing news for many reasons. Its Murcar Golf Links is the location for the current European Challenge Tour which has returned to Scotland after twelve years. The 156-strong field includes some of Europe's most promising players for the $250,000 prize fund, one of the richest on the European Challenge Tour.

Scotland looks forward to hosting the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles and the current tournament is a direct result that. It is bound to bring some new stars to the forefront that will compete against the Americans in Perthshire in eight years time.

The Murcar Championship Golf Links has a par of 71 and a standard scratch rating of 72 (USGA rating 71.6 and USGA slope rating 136) and features in the list of top 100 courses in UK. Established in 1909 when it was designed by Archie Simpson, it was modified by the celebrated golf course designer James Braid in the 1930's. Recent improvements are in keeping with Simpson and Braid's concepts.

Aberdeenshire is also the location of the proposed Trump International Golf Links Scotland, just five miles away from Murcar. Donald Trump is sentimental about Scotland as his mother Mary MacLeod was from there and he is proud of being half Scottish. Though she was from Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis, Trump was captivated by the location of his land and the imposing dunes and rugged Aberdeenshire coastline. He felt that the unspoiled and dramatic sea side landscape was perfect for his development, particularly as it is just fifteen minutes from Aberdeen International Airport.

Trump's site is close to two of the world's most famous courses and will be a new attraction for golfers there. Even today, the Aberdeen and Grampian region embodies everything that is great about Scottish golf both from a traditional and modern perspective. It is one of the fastest developing golf markets in Scotland with over seventy golf courses. The region is already a popular destination for golf tourism with the better known courses averaging an annual 5,000 visitor rounds from the US alone. This is expected to quadruple with the completion of Trump's course.